Research in NIDCD mission areas is expanding at the[unreadable] University of California, Irvine (UCI). Since 2000, UCI has sponsored interactions and interdisciplinary[unreadable] collaborations among a group of 13 faculty who currently comprise the Center for Hearing Research[unreadable] (CHR). The potential for further interdisciplinary work is substantial, with 20 faculty spanning 11[unreadable] Departments in 5 Schools at UCI performing research in NIDCO mission areas. For these investigators,[unreadable] CHR will establish a UC Irvine Core Center for Hearing and Communication Research to: 1) facilitate[unreadable] ongoing research by consolidating resources and providing access to state-of-the-art technology, 2)[unreadable] promote interdisciplinary work by educating users about Core facilities and providing expert assistance,[unreadable] and 3) recruit investigators from diverse backgrounds to research in NIDCD mission areas. We propose[unreadable] two Core facilities: 1) The Imaging Core will provide a 2-photon imaging system for visualizing neurons[unreadable] and real-time neural activity in live or fixed tissue. The system will enable new kinds of experiments,[unreadable] e.g., examining activity simultaneously in many neurons, or overtime during development. An imaging[unreadable] specialist will facilitate the integration of this technology into existing research programs and among[unreadable] users from multiple disciplines. 2) The Computing and Engineering Core will provide signal processing[unreadable] and electronic systems support for physiological and behavior research and for device development.[unreadable] The development of common signal processing algorithms will promote interdisciplinary collaborations[unreadable] (e.g., between physiological and behavioral projects) and facilitate data sharing. Core personnel will[unreadable] conduct a lecture series to familiarize new researchers with the engineering technologies used in core[unreadable] users' laboratories. The two Cores also will interact with each other, e.g., software development for[unreadable] image analysis, or for sharing data. These shared facilities will enhance ongoing research at UCI and[unreadable] accelerate the trend towards interdisciplinary research in NIDCD mission areas. The resulting synergy[unreadable] among disciplines is critical for a fuller understanding of communication and communication disorders.